The wasps arrive on time. The harvest survives.
Em um pequeno município da Zona da Mata mineira, agricultores encontraram na natureza o que por décadas buscaram em frascos de agrotóxico: controle, autonomia e sustentabilidade. A inauguração da Biofábrica de Insetos para Controle Biológico em Goianá, fruto de anos de colaboração entre ciência, governo e comunidade rural, marca uma inflexão silenciosa mas profunda na relação entre o campo e o ecossistema que o sustenta. Ao produzir localmente as vespas Trichogramma que combatem pragas nas lavouras, a região não apenas reduz custos e dependência química — ela reescreve o que significa cuidar da terra.
- Agricultores de Goianá viviam sob a ameaça constante de perder colheitas inteiras enquanto esperavam vespas benéficas chegarem pelo correio, um sistema frágil demais para a urgência das pragas.
- A dependência de inseticidas químicos acumulava custos crescentes e deixava resíduos no solo e na água, pressionando tanto a rentabilidade quanto a saúde ambiental da região.
- Uma aliança improvável entre prefeitura, Embrapa, UFMG, Emater-MG e Incra construiu, ao longo de anos, a estrutura técnica e institucional necessária para tornar a produção local de insetos benéficos uma realidade.
- Com a biofábrica operacional, os produtores passam a controlar sua própria cadeia de insumos biológicos, reduzindo custos e eliminando o risco de entregas atrasadas que comprometiam safras inteiras.
- O modelo já aponta para além de Goianá: a replicação planejada em Porteirinha sinaliza que a Zona da Mata pode se tornar referência nacional na transição ecológica da agricultura familiar.
Na manhã de 22 de maio, Goianá — município de economia ancorada na pecuária leiteira e na produção de grãos — inaugurou uma estrutura que resolve um problema antigo: como garantir que insetos benéficos cheguem às lavouras antes que as pragas façam o estrago. A Biofábrica de Insetos para Controle Biológico, instalada no Centro de Apoio à Agricultura, representa o fim de uma dependência logística que tornava o controle biológico uma aposta arriscada. Antes, os agricultores precisavam encomendar vespas Trichogramma pelo correio — e um atraso na entrega podia significar uma safra perdida. Agora, produzem esses insetos localmente, com autonomia, menor custo e sem recorrer a agrotóxicos que se acumulam no solo e na água.
A biofábrica nasceu de uma colaboração que reuniu atores raramente sentados à mesma mesa: a prefeitura de Goianá, a Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, a Emater-MG, o grupo de pesquisa em agricultura familiar da UFMG e o Incra. Dois nomes se destacam na história do projeto: o pesquisador Ivan Cruz e o agrônomo Luciano Cordoval de Barros, ambos recém-aposentados. Cordoval, em especial, exerceu o papel de tradutor entre o universo técnico e o cotidiano dos produtores — compreendendo o que o campo precisava e conectando-o a quem podia entregar. A base científica foi construída pelos pesquisadores da Embrapa Walter Matrangolo, Ivênio Rubens de Oliveira e Sinval Resende Lopes.
Para Filipe Russo, secretário municipal de agricultura, a inauguração respondeu a uma demanda que veio de baixo para cima — dos próprios agricultores e extensionistas que conheciam as necessidades reais da região. O projeto dialoga ainda com o Projeto Crioulo, iniciativa de preservação de sementes tradicionais que reforça a identidade agrícola local. Com planos de replicação já em curso para Porteirinha, no norte de Minas, a Zona da Mata começa a se consolidar como referência em transição ecológica: um território onde ciência, parceria e paciência constroem o futuro da agricultura — não com químicos, mas com insetos.
On a Friday in late May, the small municipality of Goianá in Minas Gerais's Zona da Mata region opened a facility that solves a problem farmers have struggled with for years: how to get beneficial insects to their fields before pests destroy the crop. The Biofábrica de Insetos para Controle Biológico, inaugurated on May 22nd at the Centro de Apoio à Agricultura, represents the culmination of work by researchers, agronomists, and local leaders who recognized that controlling crop damage didn't require chemicals—it required wasps, delivered on time.
Goianá's economy rests heavily on dairy cattle and grain production, making pest management a constant concern for the region's farmers. Until now, those seeking to use biological control had to order Trichogramma wasps—tiny parasitic insects that prey on crop pests—through the mail. The system was fragile. A delayed delivery could mean the difference between a saved harvest and a ruined one. The biofactory changes that calculus entirely. By producing these wasps locally, farmers gain control over their own supply chain, cut production costs significantly, and reduce their reliance on chemical insecticides that accumulate in soil and water.
The facility emerged from an unlikely collaboration. The Goianá municipal government partnered with Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, the state extension service Emater-MG, the Federal University of Minas Gerais's family farming research group, and the national land reform institute Incra. Each brought expertise and resources. But two figures stand out in the project's history: Ivan Cruz, a researcher, and Luciano Cordoval de Barros, an agronomist, both recently retired. According to Vinícius Guimarães, the general director of Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, these men proved that science could genuinely transform rural livelihoods. Cordoval's particular gift was translating between the world of farmers and the world of specialists—understanding what producers needed and connecting them to the people who could deliver it. Behind them stood a core team of Embrapa scientists: Walter Matrangolo, Ivênio Rubens de Oliveira, and Sinval Resende Lopes, who provided the technical foundation from the project's earliest stages.
The biofactory is not merely a building. It represents a shift in how this region approaches agriculture. Filipe Russo, Goianá's secretary for agriculture, environment, and food security, framed the inauguration as a response to demands that came from the ground up—from farmers and extension workers who understood what their communities needed. The model is already being replicated. Plans are underway to establish a similar facility in Porteirinha, in northern Minas Gerais, suggesting that what works in Zona da Mata can work elsewhere.
The initiative gains additional momentum through partnerships with other Embrapa units and through alignment with the Projeto Crioulo, an effort to preserve traditional seed varieties and strengthen the region's agricultural identity. Lucas Sousa, a producer involved with Projeto Crioulo Brasil, helped validate the biofactory concept and lend credibility to the vision. With the facility now operational, Zona da Mata is positioning itself as a reference point for ecological agricultural transition—a place where environmental stewardship, farmer profitability, and cutting-edge science converge. The future of farming in this region, it seems, will be built not on chemicals but on insects, partnership, and the kind of patient, collaborative research that takes years to bear fruit.
Citas Notables
The biofactory solves a crucial logistical and financial bottleneck for local corn and vegetable producers by giving them autonomy, reducing production costs, and drastically cutting dependence on chemical insecticides.— Vinícius Guimarães, general director, Embrapa Milho e Sorgo
The biofactory is more than a physical structure. It represents a milestone for regional agrobiodiversity and is the result of a demand that came from the ground up—from producers and extension workers in Zona da Mata.— Filipe Russo, secretary of agriculture, Goianá
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter that these wasps come from a local factory instead of the mail?
Because timing is everything in farming. A pest outbreak doesn't wait. If your Trichogramma wasps arrive three days late, the damage is already done. Local production means farmers control the schedule. They order, they receive, they deploy—all within days, not weeks.
But couldn't farmers just use more pesticide instead?
They could, and many do. But pesticides cost money every season, they poison the soil, and they kill beneficial insects too. The wasps are a one-time investment that keeps working. Over time, the math shifts dramatically in the farmer's favor.
This sounds like it took a long time to build.
Years. The real work was convincing people it was possible. Luciano Cordoval spent time in the fields, listening to what farmers actually needed, then bringing that back to the scientists. That translation work—between the lab and the dirt—is what made it real.
Why expand to Porteirinha now?
Because it works. Once you prove the model in one place, you can replicate it. Porteirinha faces the same problems Goianá did. The infrastructure exists now. The knowledge exists. It's a matter of building the facility and training the people.
What does this say about the future of farming in this region?
That it doesn't have to choose between making money and protecting the land. You can do both. That's what they're betting on—that science and tradition and ecology can work together, not against each other.